NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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home to America’s largest rocket engine test complex where all space shuttle main engines are tested and proven flight worthy and future engines and stages will be tested for returning astronauts to the moon with possible journeys beyond. The Applied Science and Technology Project Office at Stennis provides world-class project management to support NASA's science and technology goals. Stennis is a multi-agency center with more than 30 resident agencies.

The John C. Stennis Space Center in South Mississippi is one of ten NASA field centers in the United States. It is home to America’s largest rocket engine test complex where every space shuttle main engine is tested and future engines and stages will be tested for returning astronauts to the moon with possible journeys beyond. Because of its important role in engine testing for four decades, Stennis is NASA's program manager for rocket propulsion testing with total responsibility for conducting and/or managing all NASA propulsion test programs.

Currently, Stennis tests all space shuttle main engines. These high-performance, liquid-fueled engines provide most of the total impulse needed during the shuttle's eight and one-half-minute-flight to orbit. All shuttle main engines must pass a series of test firings (video, below right) at Stennis prior to being installed in the back of the orbiter (video, below left).

In 2010, the Space Shuttle Program will end and a new fleet of launch vehicles will power America’s next-generation spacecraft, Orion, which will carry astronauts back to the moon with possible journeys beyond the lunar surface. Stennis is testing core components for the J-2X rocket engine that will power the upper stage of the new crew launch vehicle, Ares I, and the Earth departure stage of Ares V, the new cargo launch vehicle. The J-2X engine is derived from Apollo’s Saturn V rockets that were tested at Stennis more than 40 years ago. A cluster of six RS-68B rocket engines will power the core stage of the Ares V, intended to carry large payloads to the moon. The engines are upgraded versions of those currently used in the Delta IV, developed in the 1990s by the U.S. Air Force for its Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program and commercial launch applications. All RS-68 engines are assembled and test-fired at Stennis.

Shuttle Launch (1.7 MB MPEG) More Information

SSME Test (1.3 MB MPEG) More Information

The Applied Science and Technology Project Office at Stennis provides world-class project management to support NASA's science and technology goals, and continues to support NASA's Applied Sciences Program through the Crosscutting Gulf of Mexico Coastal Program. NASA Headquarters' Science Mission Directorate establishes program priorities; the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters conducts program planning and solicitations; and the Applied Science and Technology Project Office at Stennis Space Center contracts with competitively selected partner organizations and implements the projects on which the partners work.

Stennis Space Center began "re-inventing government" decades ago before the concept became popular. Over the years, Stennis has evolved into a multiagency, multidisciplinary center for federal, state, academic and private organizations engaged in space, oceans, environmental programs and the national defense. In addition to NASA, there are more than 30 other agencies and numerous technology-based organizations located at Stennis. Of approximately 5,000 employees, about l,700 work in the fields of science and engineering.

These agencies work side by side and share common costs related to infrastructure, facility and technical services, thus making it cheaper for each to accomplish its independent mission at SSC.